POLITICS
Court Set To Rule On INEC’s Rejection Of Adebutu’s Candidacy
Court Set To Rule On INEC’s Rejection Of Adebutu’s Candidacy
The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed Friday, November 13, to deliver judgment in a suit by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Oladipupo Adebutu challenging INEC’s exclusion of his name from the list of candidates for the 2027 Ogun governorship election.
Adebutu and the PDP are asking the court to nullify INEC’s decision and compel the commission to publish his name as the party’s governorship candidate, alleging violations of the Electoral Act, 2026, and denial of fair hearing.
INEC maintains that Adebutu’s name was absent from the membership register submitted by the PDP, insisting that only the name of the party’s deputy governorship candidate, Kolapo Lateefat Oyeyemi, appeared in the register.
The PDP National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, disputed INEC’s position, telling the court that Adebutu’s name was included in the flash drive submitted to the commission, while drawing attention to differences in the colour of the devices presented by both parties.
November 12, () – The Federal High Court in Abuja will on Friday, November 13, deliver judgment in a suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Oladipupo Adebutu, challenging the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) exclusion of his name from the list of contestants for the 2027 Ogun State governorship election.
Justice Peter Lifu fixed the date on Thursday after hearing evidence from witnesses called by both parties and taking their final submissions in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2573/2026.
The legal battle followed INEC’s omission of Adebutu’s name from the final list of candidates published on October 10, a development that prompted the PDP and its candidate to approach the court on October 22.
Every second brings Nigerians closer to exercising their democratic right and shaping the future of our nation.
Exercise your democratic right responsibly, peacefully and lawfully.
The plaintiffs, through their counsel, Ahmed Raji, SAN, sued INEC as the sole defendant, asking the court to determine six questions and grant 11 reliefs.
Among other reliefs, they sought an order setting aside the commission’s decision to omit, remove or refuse to publish Adebutu’s name in the final list of candidates.
Channel
They argued that the action violated their right to a fair hearing and breached the provisions of Sections 29 and 32 of the Electoral Act, 2026.
Specifically, the plaintiffs asked the court to compel INEC to, within 24 hours of its order, include and publish Adebutu’s name as the PDP governorship candidate for Ogun State in the 2027 general election.
INEC, however, opposed the suit, maintaining that Adebutu’s name was not contained in the membership register submitted by the PDP to the commission.
In a counter-affidavit deposed to by Mustapha Mohammed, a Chief Programme Analyst in INEC’s Information and Communication Technology Department, the commission told the court that its records did not contain Adebutu’s name in the register submitted by the party.
Mohammed stated that the only name found in the register was that of the PDP deputy governorship candidate in Ogun State, Kolapo Lateefat Oyeyemi.
The dispute over the contents of the documents submitted by the PDP and received by INEC featured prominently during proceedings, with both parties presenting conflicting accounts.
At the November 5 sitting, the plaintiffs and INEC called witnesses to substantiate their respective positions.
Testifying for the plaintiffs, the PDP National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, told the court that Adebutu’s name was included in the flash drive containing the party’s list of candidates submitted to INEC.
Led in evidence by Raji, Bature said the PDP complied with the requirements of the Electoral Act and Paragraph 4(3) of Part I of the Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties, 2026, issued by INEC. He explained that the party submitted a soft copy of its candidates’ list through a flash drive, in accordance with the stipulated guidelines.
Bature also drew the court’s attention to what he described as a discrepancy in the flash drives presented by the parties.
According to him, the flash drive submitted by the PDP to INEC was silver in colour, contrary to the colour of the device brought to court by the commission. He maintained that the device originally submitted by the party contained the names of all its candidates, including Adebutu.
However, Mohammed, who testified for INEC, maintained that Adebutu’s name was not included in the list of candidates submitted by the PDP.
The INEC official told the court that the party submitted both hard and soft copies of its candidates’ list to the commission but insisted that Adebutu’s name was absent from the documents received.
The conflicting testimonies placed the contents of the submitted electronic records and the identity of the flash drives at the centre of the dispute.
While the PDP maintained that it duly submitted Adebutu’s name, INEC insisted that the candidate was not reflected in the records presented to the commission.
After hearing the parties and taking their final submissions, Justice Lifu adjourned the matter until November 13 for judgement.
The ruling will determine whether INEC’s decision to exclude Adebutu from the list of candidates will stand or whether the commission will be compelled to publish his name as the PDP candidate for the 2027 Ogun governorship election.
DO YOU WANT TO WHISTLEBLOW, REPORT FRAUD, THEFT OR INJUSTICE OR INTIMIDATION? SEND US YOUR STORY/REPORT TO NEWSDESK@MEDIATODAY.NG
